Day 15: Places

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Week 3 is the week you actually move around France. Today builds the set. Two grammar points: il y a (there is / there are) and à la / au (at, to).

1. Places

⚠️ FAUX AMI: le bureau is an office (or a desk), not a bureau of anything.And la librairie is a bookshop — the library is la bibliothèque (Day 1's list).⚠️ la gare = train station; la station = metro station. English uses "station" for both.

2. ★ à la / au / à l' / aux — "to" and "at"

Same principle as the en/au for countries on Day 3 — the form follows the place's gender.

à + le must contract to au. à le restaurant is not a thing anyone writes.à + les must contract to aux.⚠️ French has one word where English has two. Je suis au restaurant (at) and Je vais au restaurant (to) use the same au — the verb tells you which. Stop looking for a separate word for "to".

Today's verb: aller (to go) — irregular, learn it whole

★ This verb is the core of Day 25 (the near future), so nailing it now pays twice.

3. ★ il y a — there is / there are

★ One form for singular and plural. English has to choose between "there is" and "there are"; French does not — il y a un café and il y a des cafés use the same il y a.This is one of the rare places where French is simpler than English. Enjoy it.The negative is il n'y a pas de ___ (the same de rule as Days 6 and 11).In speech it collapses to something like "ya pa d…" — you will hear that long before you can spell it.

4. Prepositions of place

⚠️ de + le = du, de + les = des. Not optional, exactly like au/aux.à côté du restaurant (next to the restaurant) · en face de la gare (opposite the station)⚠️ Careful with sur — it means "on", not "sure". Sur la table = on the table.

5. Dialogue

A: Excusez-moi, il y a une pharmacie près d'ici ?ex-kew-zay MWA, eel ya ewn far-ma-SEE preh dee-SEE?B: Oui, il y a une pharmacie en face de la gare.wee, eel ya ewn far-ma-SEE ahn fass duh la GAR.A: C'est loin ? seh LWAN?B: Non, c'est à côté du supermarché. Cinq minutes à pied.nohn, seh ta koh-tay dew sew-pair-mar-SHAY. sank mee-NEWT a PYAY. Five minutes on foot.A: Merci beaucoup ! mair-SEE boh-KOO!

★ à pied (a PYAY) = on foot · en voiture (ahn vwa-TEWR) = by car — expanded on Day 17.

6. Exercises

A. Choose à la / au / à l' / aux.

1. Je vais ___ gare. 2. Je vais ___ restaurant. 3. Je vais ___ hôtel. 4. Je vais ___ toilettes.

B. Conjugate aller.

1. Je ___ à l'école. 2. Vous ___ où ? 3. Nous ___ au parc. 4. Ils ___ à la banque.

C. Say it in French.

1. Is there a café near here? 2. The bank is opposite the station. 3. There's no pharmacy.

D. ⚠️ Fix the mistake.

1. Je vais à le restaurant. 2. C'est à côté de le supermarché. 3. Il y a des cafés — or should that be "il y ont"?

7. Today's 10 sentences

1. Il y a un restaurant près d'ici ? — Is there a restaurant near here? (eel ya uhn res-to-RAHN preh dee-SEE)
2. Il n'y a pas de banque. — There's no bank (eel nya pa duh BAHNK)
3. Je vais à la gare. — I'm going to the station (zhuh veh a la GAR)
4. Je vais au restaurant. — I'm going to the restaurant (zhuh veh oh res-to-RAHN)
5. Vous allez où ? — Where are you going? (voo za-LAY oo)
6. C'est à côté du supermarché. — It's next to the supermarket (seh ta koh-tay dew sew-pair-mar-SHAY)
7. C'est en face de la gare. — It's opposite the station (seh tahn fass duh la GAR)
8. C'est loin ? — Is it far? (seh LWAN)
9. Cinq minutes à pied. — Five minutes on foot (sank mee-NEWT a PYAY)
10. Où sont les toilettes ? — Where are the toilets? (oo sohn lay twa-LET)

8. 📲 Upload to LangNote

The aller conjugation (2) + il y a (3) + the prepositions (4).

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